Happy Thanksgiving

 Our back yard birds kept me busy. Some perched close by, as did this Northern Mockingbird, atop the "For Sale" signpost:

A Double-crested Cormorant climbed up on the goose decoy which serves as a float for the intake of our irrigation system...

...and spread its wings to dry:

The next day its turquoise-blue eyes glistened in the sunlight:

The immature Yellow-bellied Sapsucker made numerous visits to tend the sap wells on the trunk of our Mahogany tree:

Far across the lake, I obtained distant shots of three heron species in one frame, a Snowy Egret with Little Blue and Tricolored Herons:

A Great Egret flew in near the Snowy Egret:

I almost overlooked a Green Heron perched among the other waders:

Thankfully, I was feeling good and visited Chapel Trail for a second time this week. We had to kill time as our home was being inspected prior to sale. It was rainy and the light was very poor.  I captured fleeting images of only two species...

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher:

White-eyed Vireo:

An afternoon shower produced a nice rainbow over our lake: 

Clouds moved away to the east, over the ocean...

...and reflected the setting sun:

Just before Thanksgiving Day I received a copy of this wonderful documentary on Bald Eagles and other birds of prey in the USA. It was produced as part of a popular wildlife series for the Arab World. I was interviewed to feature our local eagle nest (beginning around 7:00 minutes). Though it does not have English subtitles, it has very informative segments (in English) on urban eagles, the place of eagles in Native American culture, Florida Audubon EagleWatch, the American Eagle Foundation and also falconry. The series attracts millions of viewers.

If you have trouble viewing it, please visit this link: https://youtu.be/WDmWCTKs3ZI

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Linking to:

Garden Affair

Nature Thursday

Skywatch Friday

Weekend Reflections

Saturday's Critters

BirdD'Pot

All Seasons

Wordless Wednesday (on Tuesday)

Natasha Musing

Our World Tuesday

Wild Bird Wednesday

My Corner of the World

Timeless Thursday

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Please visit the links to all these posts to see some excellent photos on display
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Parade of the ibises

It was a week of medical appointments and as much backyard bird watching as possible. As is usual during the first two weeks of November, a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker returned to our West Indies Mahogany tree. 

What I cannot understand is that each year it is a new immature sapsucker. A few years I have documented their molt into adult plumage, gradually adding red feathers on head and throat. I expected that each young bird from the previous year would return as an adult. 

Over the years the sapsuckers have peppered our tree with sap wells. They clean up old ones and drill new holes. This bird has a hint of yellow on its undersides:

Our Mahogany seems none the worse for all the damage done to its bark. Look closely to see its emerging fruit (actually nut-like drupes which contain large seeds relished by squirrels and jays):

Over twenty adult White Ibises marched together along the shore:

One stopped to preen:

They filed past the "For Sale" sign in our back yard. We just had open house and attracted over 30 family groups, nearly 100 visitors. (We received seven offers to buy, selected one and now have less than a month to move out to Connecticut):

A Little Blue Heron foraged in a shallow spot:

This species has a habit of sitting very still with the tip of its bill nearly touching the water. It seems to be  near-sighted:

A Tricolored Heron exhibits its impatient and erratic feeding methods, almost running across in front of me:

It flew diagonally across the lake:

I ventured out for my first visit to nearby Chapel Trail Nature Preserve in over 6 weeks. The Gray-headed Swamphens were quite vocal:

A Great Egret stalked in the sedges, probably looking for insects and reptiles:

Light was poor and a Common Gallinule was far away:

MaryLou spotted a raptor on a distant treetop. This is how it looked through the binoculars. By its shape it was a small falcon:

I increased exposure compensation and was able to see enough detail on the cropped image to identify it as a Merlin:

In the parking lot, a Loggerhead Shrike perched on a fence:

There were pink clouds over our lake early in the evening on November 16: 

A bit later the nearly full Beaver Moon emerged from the clouds:

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Linking to:

Garden Affair

Fences Around the World

Nature Thursday

Skywatch Friday

Weekend Reflections

Saturday's Critters

BirdD'Pot

Camera Critters

All Seasons

Wordless Wednesday (on Tuesday)

Natasha Musing

Our World Tuesday

Wild Bird Wednesday

My Corner of the World

Timeless Thursday

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Please visit the links to all these posts to see some excellent photos on display
________________________________________________

Back yard visions and decisions

Even though my condition prevents me from traveling far and wide, I do keep an eye on our back yard lake. Two very similar birds appeared together on November 2.

They represent our two largest tern species...

The Caspian Tern is largest and has a massive bright red bill. Its dark cap extends through the eyes into the forehead. Usually the tip of its bill is black, but apparently not on this specimen:

The dark cap of the streamlined Royal Tern generally does not extend in front of its eyes. Its longer tail is deeply forked and its bill is slender and more orange than red:

This female Anhinga believes she "owns" a spot at the edge of our lawn. The morning sun and prevailing easterly wind helps dry her extended wings:

Threatened by my approach, she inflated her gular pouch:

A Great Egret was so nearby that it was necessary to rotate the camera for a portrait exposure:

When the egret extended its neck I had to back away and process the image uncropped:

A Tricolored Heron rested at lakeshore:

Across the lake, another Great Egret hunted intently:

An Osprey passed overhead:

An angry red sunrise on November 2:

Today marks the fourth week since my surgery. The primary cancer in the cecum had not penetrated the colon and there was no evidence of local or lymph node spread. However, there were two small metastatic nodules in my liver. One was removed completely. The other was entirely ablated (cooked) with microwave energy. 

The minimally invasive laparoscopic colon and liver surgeries were done in sequence by two surgical teams and each took about 2 hours. I feel very good right now and undergoing tests to determine whether any hidden metastases may be secreting tumor DNA into my bloodstream. 

At my age (86) the possible benefits of chemotherapy are uncertain. It seems to be a choice between quality versus prolongation of life. Decisions are complicated by  the fact that we are in the middle of selling our Florida home and moving to Connecticut. 

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Linking to:

Garden Affair

Nature Thursday

Skywatch Friday

Weekend Reflections

Saturday's Critters

BirdD'Pot

Camera Critters

All Seasons

Wordless Wednesday (on Tuesday)

Natasha Musing

Our World Tuesday

Wild Bird Wednesday

My Corner of the World

Timeless Thursday

________________________________________________

Please visit the links to all these posts to see some excellent photos on display
________________________________________________